QUARRYVILLE, Lancaster County — A Lancaster County woman has been charged with more than 12 counts of cruelty to animals after 15 dogs were seized from her Quarryville property in May.
Annie M. Beiler, 46, of the 100 block of Loop Road, was charged with 14 counts of animal cruelty and one count of neglect stemming from a visit to her kennels from a Pennsylvania SPCA humane law officer on May 24.
Three of the 15 dogs taken from Beiler’s property had been illegally debarked, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Pennsylvania SPCA officer. One of the dogs was an adult Siberian husky, while the other two were adult Doberman pinschers, the complaint says.
Debarking is an illegal operation in which a pipe-like object is forced down a dog’s throat multiple times, damaging the animal’s vocal cords, according to the PSPCA.
The criminal complaint states that Beiler paid someone $60 per dog to perform the procedure. She admitted that she tried to have the procedure done at an animal hospital, but was told it was illegal.
The criminal complaint states that Beiler also improperly docked the tails of nine Doberman pinscher puppies by putting rubber bands on their tails when the dogs were three days old. The tails got infected and required veterinary treatment, according to the complaint.
Three of the puppies were also kept in an improper hutch-like shelter with a wire floor that was spaced too widely, according to the complaint. The puppies legs fell through the wire, the complaint says.
Another puppy had hyphemia in its left eye that was left untreated, causing permanent damage that the eye’s removal, according to the complaint.
In addition to the three debarked dogs, the PSPCA removed a pregnant German shepherd, another adult Doberman pinscher with 10 puppies, seven four-week old Dobermans, two six-week old Dobermans, and a three-month-old husky.
The PSPCA took over signed custody of the dogs and provided medical treatment before placing them for adoption.
